The detention of a senior Pakistani nuclear official taken from his home Saturday night has been challenged by the man's wife in a court petition amid allegations nuclear information was leaked to Iran.
Pakistani High Court Judge Anwar ul Haq confirmed yesterday he accepted a petition regarding Major Islam ul-Haq, a senior aide to the father of Pakistan's nuclear bomb.
Islam and seven others linked to Pakistan's key uranium enrichment facility, Kahuta Research Laboratories (KRL), were picked up from their homes late Saturday for "debriefing sessions" in the wake of reports from an international nuclear watchdog.
"We have sought the high court's intervention to declare the detention of Major Islam as illegal and unconstitutional," lawyer Ikram Chaudhry said.
The petition was filed on behalf of Islam's wife Nilofer, he said.
"We have asked the court that the government be restrained from handing him over to the US Federal Bureau of Investigation or any other foreign agency," Chaudhry said.
The judge has directed the government, including the military's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), to submit a response to the court on Friday, Chaudhry said.
Pakistan has been barraged over the past year by accusations that its scientists passed nuclear knowledge to Iran, North Korea and Libya -- allegations which the government has steadfastly rejected.
But the Information Minister, Sheikh Rashid, confirmed yesterday the government had received a letter from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), though the contents "cannot be disclosed," he said.
He said the debriefing of eight officials associated with KRL -- four scientists, one technician and three retired army officers -- was ongoing.
Foreign ministry spokesman Masood Khan said on Monday that the investigations were initiated after Pakistan received "some information shared by the government of Iran ... and some information shared by the IAEA."
He also said the investigations were continuing "but no conclusion has so far been drawn" whether a transfer of technology occurred. "Let's not jump to conclusions, there's no presumption of guilt."
Islam is the principal staff officer of doctor Abdul Qadeer Khan, who in 1970s established KRL near Islamabad and headed it until retiring in 2002.
Two other KRL directors, Yasin Chohan and Farooq Mohammad, were also taken from their homes in December for questioning. Chohan has since returned home but Farooq is still being held.
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